We know him as the dude who was co-signed by Andre 3000 and made one of the best mixtapes of the past year, 4180: The Prescription. But that was pretty much all we knew. To learn more, we invited Pill to the Complex offices while he was working on the follow up to 4180, 4075: The Refill (which dropped today, download link after the jump) to find out exactly who the man behind the music was. Read on to learn about how he came up, what he thinks of the rap game now and why he’d rap even if there was no money in it for him…

DOWNLOAD PILL’S NEW MIXTAPE 4075: The Refill HERE.

Interview by Damien Scott

Complex: Everyone knows you’re from Atlanta, what part do you hail from?

Pill: I’m from the West Side of Atlanta. But Zone 3, Zone 4, Zone 1, Thomasville—I still got my Thomasville I.D. if you wanna see it.

Complex: What’s Thomasville like?

Pill: That’s the projects. I done stayed in Thomasville, I done stayed in Edgewood. So when I say I’m from Atlanta, I’m from all the gutta parts of Atlanta. I done stayed in Kimberly Courts, I done stayed at Adamsville. I been here and there all my life, you feel me? It’s great to receive the attention that I’m receiving and be able to show people the whole point of the visual, because of the simple fact that there’s a lot of people talking but ain’t really walking. For me to be able to give that visual meant a lot. To the people that were in it, it kind of uplifts them in a certain way because it’s kind of like, “Damn, somebody that’s really from here is doing something!”

Complex: As opposed to some people who just shout it out…

Pill: A lot of these guys say they’re from them places but they really ain’t from there. I ain’t ever seen them [Laughs]. And I’m from everywhere. I ain’t ever seen ‘em, at all. A few of them, a few of them cats I could vouch for that’s out the A, but a few of them I can’t.

Complex: Why did you move around so much when you were younger?

Pill: Honestly speaking, my mother was addicted to drugs. I would say from the time I was seven years old until the time she passed. May she rest in peace. She passed two years ago, I found her in Thomasville Apartments. I mean, I was always at an auntie’s house, I done stayed with a teacher, a brother, a cousin, a friend, a girl—I was always with someone. Then, you know, being in the trap and shit and traveling all your life, you really can’t get your own spot down there, so it’s like, it’s just kinda what happened…

Complex: You were bouncing around Atlanta from such a young age. When do you start selling drugs?

Pill: I went back and forth with it in my teenage years and got a little more deep in it when I got to 18, 19. I started out selling green and what not. That was just to keep a little money in my pocket, keep some fresh shoes on my feet, get fresh for the girls—for the fly ladies and what not. I know by the time I was 10 or 11, I was already smoking, already rollin’ blunts [laughs]. I was already rollin’ up like I still remember me and Lil’ Terry, Cut Throat, and I think Tre Bo’. That was the first I really hit some weed.

Complex: [Laughs]

Pill: [Laughs] A little bit after that, I started doing this thing: we used to walk around with a little sheet of paper saying we were collecting the money for the football team for a trip to Disney World—but we were hustling though [Laughs]. Of course we were scheming, but we couldn’t get no jobs at the age, so we had to put money in our pockets. That moved on to the green and the green kind of finagled into the—of course I graduated high school though, through out all of this. I was one of the first males in my family, well, actually the first male in my family to graduate high school.

After high school it got a little more heavy. I started to really see that I could make some money. My cousins were already serving yay then, but I just wanted to rap and do all that shit but they was like, “Shit, man, you need some money in your pocket.” So I ain’t have no choice. There was a time when I went straight from the studio, straight back to the trap. From the trap to the after party. I actually left from the trap to come up here, you feel me? Sometimes that’s the only place I got to go, to be honest with you, and it’s instilled in me. I gotta get away from it, of course, and I’ve been distancing myself from it because of the simple fact that I know it can be detrimental to my career. So I’ve been distancing myself from it, trying to become a better person and to teach other people not to do it, and telling them little young niggas in the hood not to do it. But, it is what it is.

Complex: At one point did you make the decision to pursue rap full time?

Pill: Probably last year.

Complex: Last year?

Pill: Probably last year or the year before that because I was still making good money in like ‘06 or ‘07 and I wasn’t spending that shit. But you know I started out rapping with Killer Mike in high school. I was on a few mixtapes with him and what not but like, say 2006, P. City was doing numbers! I’m talking about that thing was going ham sandwich—that shit was Trill! Like, bank rolls bustin’ out your pockets, we call them thigh pads. You can’t even keep it in your pocket it used to be so hard. That in itself was an addiction. Making fast money, you can go blow a thousand dollars, still make all of it back, still have money in your pockets, get fresh all week, and go make it rain. Pop bottles and all that, get in a fight and do it all again in that weekend. That used to be so fascinating to a lot of people, but to us that was just regular life. That’s just what it is, it ain’t like, “Yeah, that’s what I want to do when I grow up!” [Laughs]. You know what I’m saying? That’s what it was, nigga, that shit just was us.

Complex: Like, “I wanna grow up to be a drug dealer.” [Laughs]

Pill: Exactly like, “I can’t wait,” or raise your hand in class and be like, “I wanna sell drugs when I grow up!” [Laughs] A nigga was a victim of circumstance, that’s everybody. When you in that shit, family members done did it, everybody done did it. You know, it’s in you. You’ve been around it since you were a child. You probably held peoples bombs when you was a child or were the look out man, or did this, that, and the third, but there was always a way to make some money on the streets. It might not have always been right but when you can’t get no god damned job or when you dropped out of school…

Complex: It seems to be the only option.

Pill: A lot of people that decide they want to drop out of school probably don’t want to do shit else with their life. And I felt myself going down that same path at one point so I was like, “Man, what the fuck I’m doing?” I gotta posses some sort of talent, I gotta believe in myself some kind of way. So I need to tighten my belt up and tie my shoes a little tight and go on and go for it. And it turned out pretty good for me, you know what I mean? It’s overwhelming to me. I just want to thank everybody for fucking with me ’cause it’s surreal to me right now, man. I try to remain calm although I’m very excited on the inside. People are always like “You ain’t that excited! You ain’t that excited! How you feel? You just made the New York Times! You just did this!” I be like, you know, it is what it is, man, I’m cool.

Complex: So you said you were rapping while trapping, when did you start jotting down rhymes?

Pill: I was writing raps when I was in Kindergarden, it was always in me. I remember my first rap, that shit was like “My name is Slick Tie, I like to rap. I rap on the microphone and talk my crap. I be on time, on the line. When I’m on the microphone I start smoking the dimes. ‘Cause I’m the king of kings and I’m the cool of coolest. Step up to me? You must be foolish. Got a nine in the front and the gat in the back. Yeah, I’m a true mac.” [Laughs] Shit that was when I was five years old! That shit sounds better than a lot of the bullshit that’s out now! You can call my old elementary school teacher from when I was like in third grade because I always remember that. She used to make me recite that in front of the class, so I was always performing as a youngster. I was always on stage a youngster, like talent shows and shit like that. Playing an instrument or doing poetry. I wrote poetry, too. I played the trumpet, I wrote poetry, I played football, baseball, basketball, I drew. I did everything, nigga.

Complex: A true renaissance man.

Pill: You feel me? [Laughs] I did everything! Slung, hung, skateboarded! Nah, I ain’t really skateboard, but I tried and I skimmed my fucking self in all types of ways. I just wanted to do everything because the lifestyle I was leading as a child, I was already… I shot a pistol when I was five.

Complex: Why?

Pill: ‘Cause I was in the ‘jects. I was staying in Kimberly Courts. They were robbing people on the bus, they were robbing the ice cream truck. You couldn’t walk down the streets of Kimberly Court with out somebody taking something from you. They were finding bodies in the woods. I still remember jumping in the bushes from bullets—me and my momma. You had to learn how to pick up a pistol as a child, in case you had to use it. A lot of people is like, “I’ve been trapping and shooting pistols since I stood four feet.” Well I’ve been trapping and shooting pistols since I stood like, three feet [Laughs]. I was just spitting Tip ’cause I know he dead ass and seen it too, ’cause he was in that same lifestyle. So as a youngster it’s kind of how they do it overseas, you take the boy out to the woods and teach him how to shoot a rifle. But when it’s with us, people say, “Oh, that’s messed up!” But he needs to know, and I needed to know.

Complex: What happened the first time you shot a gun?

Pill: I shot a .40 when I was five years old. I asked my brother if I could see and he let me see it. He probably didn’t think I knew what to do with it like, “This little nigga don’t know what he doing. He probably ain’t even strong enough to pull the trigger.” I leaned up against the wall and BAH-POW! Of course it threw me back against the wall and the adrenaline rushed and I was like, “Oh, I wanna shoot it again! C’mon!” He was like, “Boy, get your ass in there, you not supposed to do that shit!” [Laughs].

Complex: How did your friends and family react when you told them you wanted to focus on rapping?

Pill: They gave me a little flack at first but then they started to embrace me a little bit more because they started seeing the older cats were like, “Stay on what you’re doing, that shit’s good.” ‘Cause I started performing right in the trap, at this place called The Ham. You know, “Trap Goin’ Ham,” all that shit. So that was the first time I did that and I brought back to the hood and they were like “Yeah!” I incorporated a few of my peoples names into my raps ’cause of my problems and niggas started to get behind me. They started to come to my shows and it made me feel good because at first they were like, “Aw, this nigga ain’t trap no more, that nigga want to rap! He don’t want to get money no more!” I was still around though ’cause that was the only place I had to go at the time, so of course I would still pick some up or chop something up or drop something off, just to keep some money in my pocket. But I had to make sure that my goal was in sight. I had to make sure there was a bigger picture and that I could be a better man than I was being. Once I brought the CD to the ‘hood, they were like, “Oh shit, that boy Psych! That boy Psych finna’ blow up!”

Complex: Psych?

Pill: They call me Psych in the hood. It’s short for Psycho.

Complex: Where’d the name Pill come from?

Pill: Pill came from football. And I just finagled it into the medicine because as I started to get more serious with the rapping, I was like “Okay, Pill the medicine. I’m the cure for rap cancer.” I was saying that years ago. First it came from football. Julian DeMario Johnson gave me that name. Him and Jamal Johnson. Lil’ Mario, we used to call him, he died in an accident, years ago. I scored a few touchdowns and Jamal would be like, “Oh, here’s the Pill!” ‘Cause that was his name for the football. Like throw me the pill, pass the pill.

Complex: Your first mixtape, 4180: The Prescription, is what got everyone interested in you. How did that tape come about?

Pill: I just basically made sure I had a bunch of tight ass beats. I knew I had to get some classic shit that people ain’t heard in a minute, I had to get some shit that everybody ain’t rapping on, and I probably had to get one or two of the hottest songs on the radio. I wanted to make sure I did me. I didn’t want to compromise my creativity by just trying to put out a bunch of shit that’s on the radio or a bunch of shit that I think people might like. I did what I think I might like. I ain’t record in no big time studio or no shit like that. I recorded that shit in a basement. I just had a tight ass engineer with some expensive equipment and we set up the studio in the basement. He had a nice studio in his spot but his spot got broken into. So I was like, “Damn that just fucked up my studio!” So we had to bring him from Alabama, a guy by the name of Scrag Lee with grade A music. He actually produced “Trap goin’ Ham”, thats why you hear “Grade A on the beat”. We brought him from Alabama, set up shop, went in, non-stop.

Complex: One thing I liked about the mixtape was your sense of remorse about the trap life. It’s not glamorized or glorified…

Pill: That’s something I do anyway because I don’t want the other kids to follow in my footsteps. There’s a lot of young kids that look up to rappers and I’m starting to realize that kids are going to be listening to me. Of course I’m going to talk about what I talk about but I’m going to find a way to stick a message in there. I am going to talk about the trap and I am going to talk about the struggle and I’m also going to talk about how we need help and I’m also going to let people know that it’s fucked up out here. It’s ugly. Ain’t really much money for not many people, in whatever profession they have. I just want to uplift the people, man, I wanna be the sound track to their lives. I want to be able to make the people feel like they were right there with me when I was going through it and so they can have better judgment on the decisions they make coming up, whether it be adults or kids, young and old, whoever the listener is, I want to make sure that they can take something from my music and apply it their everyday life.

That’s why I made sure in that mixtape I incorporated all types of beats to show people my versatility on each type of beat so they won’t try to put me in this box of “just some nigga that sold dope and rapping about it.” I’m trying to enlighten some people about the shit that’s going on and that we need help out here and it’s fucked up cause they tearin’ the projects down. I got some new shit I just did with ILLFONICS about my mama. She passed away and it took a lot for me to write that song. I want people to get in my mind. Walk down those same streets I walked down or stand in front of the same stores I stood in front of or running from the police—I want them to feel like they’re running, so it can be exciting. It can make you laugh and it can make you cry. I want it to be timeless music. When I do it, that’s not even something I think about. It’s something takes a hold of me and it just comes out. If that’s what comes out then I’m glad.

Complex: You have a very intricate rhyme style, who were your rap influences?

Pill: Of course Tupac. Of course Biggie. Jay-Z, he was always real fly with it, a fresh kind of dude. Then you got Raekwon, Redman, Method Man.

Complex: A lot of New York dudes…

Pill: A lot of New York rappers and what not but then again you have OutKast, who were god damn huge to me. To hear OutKast, to hear Cee-Lo, to hear MJG, to hear Devin the Dude, Too Short, to hear Scarface. I listen to everything. I had the Fat Joe tape when he was still with Tommy Boy and they had the little characters on the back. Whatever was poppin’ at the time, whatever was good. I can’t even front like I was always listening to gangsta’ shit. I mean I took a liking to Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek. I remember when Talib and Hi-Tek had that video in the rain and shit, you remember that shit? Of course Common was the shit, I still remember his beef with Ice Cube. I listened to Cube, N.W.A. was always the greatest. I remember I thought Eazy-E was the coolest motherfucker walking the earth and I wanted them shades! I really got a Jheri curl when I was a child. Seeing that and being able to remember that music is good because that’s when real rap was real rap. Now you got a lot of bright colors.

Complex: What’s real rap to you?

Pill: Real rap is talking about what you’ve been through. Real rap is personifying your experiences as a person and throughout life. If you can’t personify the truth, you’re not making real rap. That’s just shit that entertains the people, that’s just entertainment. Real rap is when you can really talk about some shit that really went down.

Complex: Do you feel like rap is full of entertainers now?

Pill: Yeah a lot of them are just entertainers basically. I mean no disrespect to nobody. Get your money and it is entertainment at the end of the day but damn what happened to it being art in its truest form? That’s what hip-hop used to be. You rapped about what you just did down the street. I remember seeing old tapes of shit where they were just beat boxing and shit and I was like, “That’s what I want to do!” So I automatically started rhyming. I automatically started battling when I was a child. I remember I was in a little group back when I was in first, and second grade and it was like you had to have the the tighter group.

Complex: Talk to me about your creative process. When you write a song do you actually write it out or do you keep it all in your head?

Pill: No, I write. I’m not one of them guys that be like, “Oh, I ain’t write this by the way” or “Yeah, I come off the top!” I freestyle too but I respect the art form, you feel me? I’m a writer. I could be on the train, I got to pull my note pad out. If I hear some shit in my head, I got to write it down.

Complex: What can people expect from the new mixtape?

Pill: I’m going to show that I’m growing at least a little but I don’t want to stray from the formula at all. That’s what people like, so that’s what I want to give the people. I just want to keep people jamming. I’m not going to be one of these guys who is like, “Fuck this shit! I ain’t got no Rolls Royce!” or “I ain’t got no Lamborghini! I’m mad as hell!” That’s not why I do it, I do it for the love. I’d be doing this shit if I ain’t have a dollar or if it weren’t profitable to me. A lot of niggas are claiming they’re making a bunch of money, but they ain’t off of that music shit right now because it’s ugly. Tapes ain’t selling like that. Imagine what type of loss I’m taking and I’m giving away these CDs for free! ‘Cause it’s all about the music. If people can’t hear it then what the fuck are you doing it for? If you’re just doing it for the money, then what the fuck are you doing it for? Straight up, of course I want a lot of money, to live comfortably but that’s not why I’m doing it. I got people that’s on my back right now. Family members that need me right now, homeboys that need me right now. It’s a lot of people that depend on me right now. That’s probably the only reason why I feel like I need money right now, but other then that, if I was just already straight or already rich, I wouldn’t give a damn. I’d do all free shows. But a lot of people just do it for the money and that ain’t good, man. That’s why I think the music went down with in the past couple of years. I don’t want to be solely responsible for it but I want to be credited with bringing this shit back to what it was, real music, real hip-hop.

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And wouldn’t you know it, we were right! Earlier this month, Vh1 kicked off season two of For the Love of Ray J, with Brandy’s brother once again looking for true love among 19 new contestants. If you’ve been following the first two episodes of the season, you have an idea of what Ray thinks of his new stable of women, but we wanted to go a little bit further. We got him to open up about what he thinks of each and every girl. He also hipped us to what he’s now looking for in a women, why a girl can’t just be crazy attractive and just what is going on with his music career…

Interview by Leah Tisdale

Name: Micaela Rosario
Ray J’s Given Name: Adorable
Ray J Says: When I seen her, I thought she was nice, I thought she was an adorable looking girl. She had a little innocence to her, so I was like, OK Adorable, that’s what it is.

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Name: Angeles Gimenez
Ray J’s Given Name: Caliente
Ray J Says: Yeah, Caliente! Like, I don’t know what the hell she’s talking about, but she’s hot. She can barely talk English, I almost need a translator. She’s from Argentina.
Complex: And she came all the way here for you?
Ray J Says: Yes. Si. Si, mami si.

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Name: Krista Hoffman
Ray J’s Given Name: Diego
Ray J Says: Yeah, Diego! I mean, shit, I thought she was a nice person but the top 5 R&B singers killed me, like Whoa! She brought me to the side, and I was having a little fun with a couple of the girls, and she was like, “Yo, I need to talk to you. This is it. It’s so deep. This is our connection, I need this.” I thought she was about to tell me something about her family, or about her life. So I’m like, “What’s Up?”. And she goes (in a frantic voice), “What are your top 5 R&B singers?”. And I’m like, “Huh?”. And I’m stuck for 10 minutes. And then I give them to her, and she’s just weird! So I had to let her go, cause she weirded me out.

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Name: Leia Depina
Ray J’s Given Name: Exotica
Ray J Says: She’s from Cape Verde so she’s cool. I can’t understand what she’s saying either.
Complex: If you can’t understand what they’re saying, how is it gonna work in the long run?
Ray J: Well, you got a girl and you don’t understand what she’s saying and she don’t understand what you’re saying, but the chemistry between the actions and the emotions is there. All you need to do now is try and find out how to speak the other language. Actually, it’s trying to do more for yourself and expand your culture. I’m with that. I’m with expanding in my culture, from the Dominican Republic all the way to Cape Verde. Please believe that.

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Name: Sharmisa Garner
Ray J’s Given Name: Extra
Ray J Says: Extra. Yeah, extraordinary. Extra, extra, read all about it! She’s so little, but she does so…much. Extra things (whispers).

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Name: Alison Ceglio
Ray J’s Given Name: Fettucini
Ray J Says: I didn’t eliminate her because she was a celebrity smasher. I eliminated her because she was bragging about smashing celebrities. And bragging about how hot she was, and that she can get anybody. She was just too cocky for what I’m looking for.

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Name: Michelle Abare
Ray J’s Given Name: Luscious
Ray J Says: I need a nice wholesome girl. Yes!

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Name: Bethany Lucas
Ray J’s Given Name: Flossy
Ray J Says:She’s a nice, tall little model chick. I’m cool with her. Nice smile, you know what I’m saying?

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Name: Franchelle Criner
Ray J’s Given Name: Gifts
Ray J Says: Gifts is out. I mean, Gifts was hot, but the role she was playing…I was like, “think about us, think about what our relationship would be like.” And she was just getting butt naked all on camera. I was like, “Uhhh, what’s going on ?” I was shocked.

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Name: Susana Montez
Ray J’s Given Name: Heartbreaker
Ray J Says: She’s a tough one. Macho woman.

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Name: Courtney Cameron
Ray J’s Given Name: Jaguar
Ray J Says: Jaguar, she’s a Jehovah’s Witness.
Complex: How do you feel about that?
Ray J Says: I’m cool with that. As long as people ain’t knocking on my door all day, I’m cool. You can knock, just not all day.

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Name: Undisclosed
Ray J’s Given Name: Just Right
Ray J Says: Right in the mix. She’s hot!

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Name: Taneish Simpson
Ray J’s Given Name: Lava
Ray J Says: Lava’s really intense. Nobody saw the scene, but we did this action scene, and they cut out the part when she came in with this stinking-ass onion. And she was trying to cry, but she was squeezing this onion all over. The smell of the onion was just crazy. She’s definitely in her own zone.

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Name: Connie Deveaux
Ray J’s Given Name: MZ Berry
Ray J Says: MZ Berry’s hot. I love Halle Berry, and she came in resembling Halle a little bit. MZ Berry, it’s not for Ms. Halle Berry, it’s MZ Strawberries. You know what I’m sayin? MZ Strawberry.

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Name: Adele Figueira
Ray J’s Given Name: Paradeez
Ray J Says: Aw man, the name speaks for itself. Pair of D’s.

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Name(s): Rachel Reed & Hana Franek
Ray J’s Given Name(s): Trouble & Tipsy
Ray J Says: Gone. Gone. I felt like they came here to get on Charm School.
Complex: Maybe that’s their next career move…
Ray J Says: You never know. But I don’t know Ricki Lake, and I never even connected with the situation. So I didn’t appreciate them coming on and trying to do something else.

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Name: Olia Svetlana
Ray J’s Given Name: Popper
Ray J Says: Yeah, she’s there. Popper—she’s poppin’. She’s cool.

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Name: Undisclosed
Ray J’s Given Name: Platinum
Ray J Says: Platinum, yeah. Better than gold, baby.

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Bonus Questions:

Complex: After doing season one has anything changed in what you’re looking for in a woman?

Ray J: Yeah. I wanted a woman, at first, with a classy side but with a really wild, crazy side. I wanted that because I’m wild and crazy sometimes. But that was then. Now I need less wild and crazy, like, a little bit of that element, but more class. A woman that’s responsible and that wants to take care of herself. And then somebody that wants to take care of their man, too. Just more of a responsible woman.

Complex: Like a “Ms. Independent” ?

Ray J: Yeah, shout out to Ne-Yo.

Complex: Alright, besides the onions, what are deal breakers for potential girlfriends?

Ray J: Well, the onion didn’t deal break it, it just was stinkin’. Ya know, I just want a girl to be honest. And it’s hard. We’re shooting the show, we got 28 days to try and connect. Not fall in love, cause that’s hard to do in 28 days, it can happen, but just to find that connection. When I walked in, I already narrowed mine down, but at the same time, in narrowing the ones that I like down, I start finding things out that might change my mind about them. So it’s all about getting to know these people. Sometimes the attractive girls, like Fettuccine was hot, but she was trying to boss up and be cocky. And so, I gotta let you go. Yeah, you’re a hot chick, but I wanted people to understand, it’s not just about hotness. It’s inside and out. If you don’t believe anything else in life, please believe that.

Complex: OK, what’s going on with you musically?

Ray J: We got a song that’s in the top 10 of iTunes, it’s selling like crazy. “Tie Me Down” with The New Boyz, I’m in the future baby. I don’t rock the skinny jeans, but all the kids are singing the song. So check my demographic, it’s from, like, age six to 70.

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Interview by Noah Rubin

Complex: Talk to me a little bit about the idea of Supreme Architecture.

RZA: That’s the one who comes with the illest ideas, the illest creation. An architect is a person who builds homes or structures, stadiums even. A Supreme Architect is someone who actually built the universe. So, if I say I am the Supreme Architecture, I’m letting Allah speak. I’m becoming a vehicle.

Complex: What’s the key to becoming that vehicle?

RZA: Realizing that the body is a vehicle for the mind, and that vehicle is how you travel through space. The person who exposed me to a new way of thinking was my cousin GZA, Allah Justice, the Genius. When you’re in darkness you need someone to show you what? The light. He’s the one that enlightened me—and once that wick was lit I kept adding on to keep kindling that fire. They say knowledge is like fire ’cause it breaks down things so you can see what they truly are. It’s like how a fire breaks your body down to carbon.

Complex: When GZA exposed you to those ideas were you immediately open to them?

RZA: It wasn’t like I had to be convinced. They say the truth shall set you free. When you hear the truth, it sets you free. So mathematics is truth. It adds up. There’s no error. Only time there’s an error is when man miscalculates his own problems or his own equations. Knowledge is first and wisdom is the manifestation of knowledge. To understand this tone and pattern of thinking in the numerical way automatically resonated with me. Then to hear the facts that follow through lessons you have to study, through books you get exposed to. You get an education that defeats the education you get in school.

Complex: What books are most revealing?

RZA: The most revealing books are the Holy Koran and the Holy Bible. The Bhagavad Gita is a great book as well, and the works of Buddha. These are the major influences on the world.

Complex: How did those texts influence you artistically?

RZA: Well in The Tao of Wu, we go into different stories and ways of helping you get wisdom. I tell you stories from my life that help brothers see that it’s a physical thing and a mental thing to gain wisdom. I’ll read this right from the book: “Krishna said that you can study all day and pray all day and chant all day but you get to heaven faster if you hang with the wise men.” I was nervous to even write this book, yo.

Complex: Why were you nervous about it?

RZA: ’Cause I don’t like talking about myself. Even though I rhyme about it all day, I rhyme about a lot of my strengths and my weakness as well but not these particular lessons in life. Without having to put it all into a 16-bar verse, you make it a whole page of something that happened that led to wisdom and enlightenment or that added on to this enlightenment that I have. When you first get the spark, you know you gotta keep the fire burning, it can go out, it goes out in many people, it goes out on most people. Time, age, the old abbot gotta sit still after a while, but as long as he keep the fire burning he can touch another fire, spark another person and another, that’s why in old kung fu flicks you’ll see the old abbot, he don’t come back to fight the villain, he trains a student for that job, the student comes back and destroys the villain. Bong bong. Then the abbot doesn’t have to fight. His losing is losing a lot of wisdom. That’s why so many people get in front of him.

Complex: Do you think there’s a great challenge to get beyond the initial moment of enlightenment, to get to a higher level of understanding of the world around you?

RZA: Once you’ve got an inspired spark, you’ve got to strive. You’ve gotta keep putting wood on it, so they say, to keep it burning. But then there’s the alchemist side of it, that’s the fire that’s burning but it don’t burn. It’s just a light. It’s like when a man who works out can take a blow more strongly. He has muscles protecting his body. Punch him in the stomach, he’s got a six-pack. He’s not going down as quickly as a soft-bellied kid. So, when you feel this knowledge and this spark in yourself, you’ve gotta continue feeding it. The best thing, like I already said, is to spend time around other wise men, that keeps it burning. That keeps it in every degree sharp as steel, but make sure you absorb enough to find out how it sparks from yourself, how the self starts the self. Once you’ve got that you should be free. That’s freedom, to me. Let’s look at ODB, a free man for real. His expression of freedom, his way he wanted to do was very free. One out of a million people could deter him from an idea, ’cause he was free to express like that.

Complex: Who are the people you consider most wise?

RZA: In this world? There’s strong men of wisdom in many different fields. They say 5% of the people are wise and righteous and 10% are wise but use their wiseness for wickedness or to deceive others. It’s like a magician: he knows the answer to the trick, but you don’t. He has to keep you blind to the truth in order for the illusion to work. When you’ve got that kind of wisdom and somebody else doesn’t, you can always take advantage of them. There’s the 5% of the people that are wise and righteous and I’d definitely be amongst them, building, communicating, and continuing to try and figure out how we can awaken the 85%. The 85% are walking around [like] cattle, not realizing the things we do, the violence we do; you see people falling victim to all sorts of unnecessary things because they just don’t know the way and nobody is showing them the way.

Complex: Do you feel like that’s the fundamental message of your music?

RZA: I wouldn’t say that. The fundamental message of the Wu Tang music is as vast as the ocean in all reality, but it’s still a straight path. You can take one lyric and by researching what that lyric is giving out to you, it should give you more than a day’s worth of school, maybe three days’ worth of school. I can give an example. I won’t be selfish and use myself, but I’ll just say when we say:

The pre-existence of the mathematical biochemical equations
The manifestations of God, planet air fire and water
Which are in its basic formation, solid liquid and gases
That caused the land masses, and the space catalyst
And all matter that exists and is dense
Third dimension, that must be observed through physical comprehension
It takes a nerve to be struck, wisdom is the wise
Poet spoken to wake up, the dumb who’ve been sleeping
The fourth dimension is time, it goes inside the mind
When the chakras energize up through the back of your spine
So observe as my qi energy strikes a vital nerve
One swerve of the tongue it pierces like a sword through the lung
Have you not heard, that words kill us faster than bullets
When you load negative thoughts, into the chamber of your brain
And your mouth pulls the trigger that propels
Wickedness straight from hell
From the pits of of your stomach where negativity dwell
[-From The Gravediggaz’ “Twelve Jewelz”]

That’s just one verse out of Wu Tang Clan’s catalog, more than a thousand songs. That one verse alone is enough to go ahead and do a scientific experiment to see what is going on. What is the preexistence of the mathematical biochemical equation? You gotta prolly ask me for the answer, you know what I mean?

Complex: Why do you think enlightenment is hard to get across to the people given that the situation is this drastic?

RZA: In today’s society, the forces against you are heavy against you. The whole goal is to get knowledge of yourself, but people are so far from themselves that they don’t believe themselves. In the old days, there wasn’t no more than 11 TV channels. That’s enough to save you. Now having 400 frequencies floating by every day when you walk out to every house. These different airwaves being sent out, thousands and thousands of kilowatts of energy being pushed out, whatever these ideas are. They happen everyday and you’re breathing them in. You see things on TV you wouldn’t want your children to see on Cartoon Network. Cartoon Network started as a place that showed cartoons and they had kids watching it, about 8 years later you wouldn’t really want your kid to watch it because the content is adult.

Complex: Do you feel like drugs are a tool that confuse or clarify?

RZA: Drugs depend on individuals, actually. It depends on your chemical makeup and all that. Drugs can lead to enlightenment; they got whole ceremonies for certain drugs that take you to this other world of enlightenment. When LSD was made, people thought they were getting enlightened. People say Einstein was taking it. Drugs hurt, though, whether they give you enlightenment or not; they have their own effect, the side effect.

The side effects of whatever you doing is gonna determine how long you’re gonna enjoy your enlightenment. Drugs definitely induce that in people. That’s why people take drugs. You could be sitting there doing nothing, and smoke a blunt and then be sitting there doing nothing, but swear you’re doing something. When you’re bored it’s like that, but when you’re working, you don’t really get as high and you still go to enlightenment; that’s why you got the kung fu. Kung fu was made so the monks could train their bodies and move their bodies with strength, so they could be physical enough to gain mental enlightenment. Before that, they kept falling asleep when [masters] were trying to teach them.

Let’s look at some of the enlightened statues. You see Buddha, you see laughing Buddha, you see the crying Buddha, you see the sleeping Buddha, you see the tall Buddha, you see the female Buddha, you see all these different variations, these are all different kinds of personalities of different kinds of ways that they reached enlightenment. You can laugh yourself into enlightenment, you’ve got the drunken Buddha, the drunk monk, you know what I mean? That’s why you can drink yourself into enlightenment.

Complex: You got the fat Buddha, the drunk Buddha…what’s the RZA Buddha?

RZA: [Laughs.] That’s the universal Buddha.

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He just did a New York reunion show at Governor’s Island where he embraced Jadakiss (whom he’s had problems with in the past), he hasn’t flown off the handle about his placement on the MTV list like he two years ago—and yesterday, as we sat down with 50 Cent in his unfinished new office, his answers to our questions seemed more methodical than ever. While he preps to release his oft-delayed album Before I Self Destruct on November 23, we spoke to 50 about possible tension with Dre, Fat Joe’s first-week sales, pulling a gun on Diddy, and how he really feels about Jay-Z’s “no one is scared of 50 Cent” comment. Yup, some things will never change…

Interview By Joe La Puma

Complex: Okay, as far as the the new album, we’ve heard a radio-friendly single with Ne-Yo, but you also have gritty tracks like “Flight 187″….

50 Cent: “Flight 187″ is a bonus track, it’s not on the album. I started the project, and I wrote exactly what I wanted on it, and then I thought out the actual singles at the very end. The album changed, because there was a time period around December of last year, that I was ready to put my record out and I was a little anxious. I usually release on schedule; it’s usually a two-year cycle for me before I release a record. In December, I put out the “Get Up” record, and then Interscope had a transition, like the entire music business did. So the majority of the delays of this project have been readjustments to what’s actually going on, not [because] the material wasn’t up to par or completed. There’s been a transition that we experience in technology—for instance, right now we’re talking to Complex.com instead of Complex magazine. That right there shows you that things are totally changing around. Instead of fighting things, I embrace them.

Complex: Are there any other guest appearances on the album?

50 Cent: R.Kelly, that’s also a bonus cut. I kept this album shorter. I kept it down to 16 songs, so people could continuously play these songs and fall in love with them. I’d rather jump in the car from Banks’ house to Manhattan listening to my entire album. Listen to the entire record and then on our way back, listen again. I was getting that a lot when I was talking about the War Angel LP, creating content that directly impacts the actual environment—I wrote that for them. Most artists’ first album is like that because they don’t think “world music.” They think “let me make the coolest thing here, right now.” And the influences and their surroundings make them write something that reflects their experience.

Complex: Right…

50 Cent: If you looked at Ready to Die, Reasonable Doubt, Illmatic, those artists would probably tell you that that record was written for their neighborhood. Those are the records that they are working to live up to and can’t quite match because they got big. Reasonable Doubt wasn’t even a gold record. It went gold after the other albums were successful. Illmatic too. Imagine 50 Cent now with a gold record. It just doesn’t work. Those artists no longer can create the aggressive content, because they shifted their lives to where they can’t create from a genuine space.

Complex: So that’s the big difference between you and those artists?

50: The way I responded to the financial stability, it comes with being successful as an artist. My interests reflect on the struggle and how far I’ve came, versus indulging in how great it is where I’m at now. A lot of these artists write “I’m rich,” the coolest shit about being rich, “I’m at the clearport, I’m doing this, I’m doing that.” They aspire to write about luxury and to excite an audience and the demographic that comes from where they come from, saying “I want to be like him.” I write material that makes [the listener] feel like he’s like me. The guys on the corner can relate to 50 Cent in a different way because they knows that I’ve had the same experience and I’ll be inspiring to them.

Complex: People said that Blueprint 3 came off very braggadocious, just like you alluded to—Jay bragging about the stuff he has.

50: But that’s a career trait. That’s a style. The choice that he’s made as an artist. He’s done that his entire career. He felt he could shift trends with the things he’s actually saying. I mean, it’s cool, it’s an option to write that when you’re that successful. I just feel like writing imperfection instead of creating a superhero is interesting. I’ll write the things they’re not willing to say because they think it affects their “cool factor” to the point where they feel like it puts them in the box. They’re limited to what they can say and do. I don’t give a fuck. I can say and do what I want. So I write those defective characters.

Complex: So you had the big “50 Fest” show in New York recently, where you reunited with a lot of artists. Seems like that was a big step for you. Is that part of the maturation process?

50 Cent: Well, for me the New York show was an opportunity. It was actually branched revenue for Thisis50.com. And at the same time, an opportunity for me to work with artists and have them seen in the same light. There’s no middle ground in hip-hop. It’s either you’re rocking arenas or you’re getting top dollar, getting money out a nightclub. You can’t really get more than that $75,000 threshold, that’s really it in the nightclub circuit.

Complex: You originally had problems with Jadakiss because he did a song with Ja Rule. How would you feel if, after this concert, he went out and did a song with someone like Rick Ross?

50 Cent: You know what? Check this out. I have an issue with anyone who’s trying to keep someone who I deem my enemy in a good position. Where I’m from, if you have an issue with one guy and someone keeps standing next to them, just hit him too. Just kill him too. It’s just the way I use my gut. I use my moral compass to tell me when to go in on somebody. I dealt with that, it doesn’t make sense for me to continue to beat that dead horse. When the artist that I intended to destroy has completely been destroyed, why would I be bothering him? I could tell you as soon as I wrote “Piggy Bank” what was going to happen.

Complex: How so?

50 Cent: I knew Fat Joe’s pride would bring him out first, even if he wasn’t in the position to win. And he would go and go and go because he has the tough-guy aura. He’s tougher in his head than he is in reality, as far as his Don Cartagena shit is concerned. It feels great because everybody’s paying attention to them and talking on the radio about them. Mind you, while they’re going out and doing all of this talking, I’m just chilling. I’ll send them out like they’re a rap fan so they can market me. So everywhere they go, nobody cares about your record or what you’re doing. The number one question is “So what’s up with you and 50?” They’re not smart enough to come up with a new disrespectful way to talk to me because I’ve heard everything you could fucking think of. Then I move away because I’m competing with another artist, and the spotlight moves with me because I’m actually creating the material and generating the interest. So when I move to do that, you’re in darkness…to the point where you drop your album sales to 8,000 copies.

Complex: Were you surprised that Fat Joe only sold that many his first week?

50 Cent: Well, I have 8,000 friends. So that’s extremely low.

Complex: It’s very low…

50 Cent: Watch this. Want a prediction from me? I’ll tell you what a psychic told me. Triple Cs is next. And then Rick Ross is going to follow that failure. Def Jam dumped a whole lot of marketing dollars into trying combat me with Rick Ross. More money than they should have. What his numbers were versus what Jadakiss did, didn’t make financial sense. So the next go-around, they’re going to give him his fair share instead that extra piece of pie. Then you’re going to see where he really is.

Complex: You told people not to hold their breath about a collaboration with The Game. Are there still real issues with him?

50 Cent: I really don’t know Game. I worked with the kid for six days. I have bigger issues with the actual system, the company, people who work in it. Initially, people would be like, “Yo, we know you wrote the fucking records! You think we give a fuck about that?” Game built this thing on the West Coast, they desperately needed him to come out—they didn’t have anybody since Snoop. That’s what made it a good business opportunity to begin with. But I had to make sacrifices in order to have Dre put the record out, the same way they waited eight years for Dre to put his album out.

Complex: Is there tension between you and Dre?

50 Cent: There’s no tension. There will never be a beef between 50 Cent and Dre. And it’s not based on 50 and Dre’s relationship, it’s based on Eminem and Dre’s relationship. My relationship with Em is what Em’s relationship is to Dre. If I was to say something disrespectful to Dre, it would effect Em and I value that relationship too much. So I won’t say anything, I’ll never say anything negative about Dre.

Complex: Does it bother you that it can take Dre so long to mix your records?

50 Cent: Oh no, that’s just him as a producer. He takes his time. He loses interest in shit. I don’t care how great you are. He’s great, but he loses interest in himself at points. So the making of the record at this point is motivation. He’ll tell you himself that that’s what he feels.

Complex: How do you feel about him working with Game?

50: I don’t care. It’s better that you shut up sometimes than for you to actually express your judgments when you’re close to home.

Complex: Shifting gears, in your VH1 Behind The Music episode, there was a part that talked about Diddy taking a meeting with you, and him getting shook because you brought a gun to the office…

50 Cent: This is what happened. Jennifer Lopez told Puffy that I was a great writer because Corey Rooney signed me to Columbia Records. Jennifer had been exposed to my material, so she told Puff she thinks I’m somebody he should work with. I came down to write and I was in there writing a couple of joints and Puff left the actual room. There was rustling and rambling at the door and shit like that. I jumped up—when you get hurt as bad as I got hurt, either your fear consumes you or you become insensitive. So I jumped up and figured “as you come through the door, I’ll shoot your ass down right there in the door.” The paranoia heightens your senses. You start to see every little detail, every little thing. You don’t want to miss anything and have it turn out there’s someone shooting you again. When I heard the rambling outside, I jumped up, I had a Mac-10 on me. Pulled the joint out and Puff came in and looked, said, “Oh shit, I can’t do this.”As a matter fact, it was Shyne and Wolf, wrestling outside. Puff was going through that actual case when he called me in to write and I’m in his office with a Mac-10. He was like, “I can’t do that.” After the fact, I looked at it and was like, That’s a legitimate call.

Complex: How do you feel about MTV’s Hottest MCs list?

50 Cent: Well, I try to figure out what they’re looking at and what their criteria is. They pick trying to be aware of the art form. For you to leave off the highest selling rap album of the year in your Top 10, I don’t know what the fuck your criteria is. That’s Em’s project. If you don’t have a rap record sell more copies, how could you miss that rap record? It’s just people’s personal preference. Fuck if MTV does a Top 10, everybody has their own Top 10. As long as you’re on the list, you’re straight.

Complex: A lot of people felt that Eminem should’ve been on the list, just off of the strength of his verse on “Forever.” You said a few weeks ago that Em didn’t even know who was going to be on that record…

50 Cent: He didn’t know everyone who was on the record. And it was remixed, they remixed his vocals. When I make records with Em, Dre mixes my vocals in the beat, then sends the beat, and Em sends his vocals until it sounds the way he wants it. Then we wrap it up. So he did his verse on the actual song, they moved it around, put other people on and he didn’t even mix his vocals back yet.

Complex: He didn’t like that?

50 Cent: Well he doesn’t like not being able to hear himself the way he wants to hear himself. So those are somebody else’s ears saying “this sounds like good Eminem” instead of Em’s.

Complex: Someone who made the list who has actually been through some real street shit like you have is Gucci Mane—how do you feel about his placement at #6?

50 Cent: I understand Gucci Mane has something that the other artists don’t have, and that’s authenticity. Because he’s had the experience, they’ll glorify it. Think about how many times I’ve been asked, “How does it feel to be shot?” That’s their personal interest, their amazement in the situation. I don’t ask people, “Ask me how did it feel to be shot. Could you ask me what I was thinking when I was shot?” If it was up to me, it would’ve never happened. I see where they see significance in the content, based on them knowing that the backdrop of a story has some truth to it. These are the things other artists completely lack. Like Rick Ross is exactly the opposite of a Gucci Mane. I’ll listen to Gucci Mane despite what his cadence choices are. As opposed to listening to a Rick Ross, who is talented rapper but is lying. I just don’t want to hear rappers rapping lies. I don’t want to hear that shit.

Complex: Getting back to Jay-Z, who ended up #1 on the list. Much has been made of his recent comment saying “no one is afraid of 50 Cent.” Regardless, it seems like the general public agrees that Kanye wouldn’t have pulled that stunt if you were on stage instead of Taylor Swift…

50 Cent: He wouldn’t. You can’t convince the public, you can’t convince Kanye to say he would’ve did that. If I was there and he did that to me we would have had an altercation. Right there. It’s clear. He [Kanye] would have avoided that, just being intelligent. The interviewer who asked [Jay-Z] about the Kanye situation made him feel like a punk. His presentation is really simple and you can’t have both. You can’t be gangster Jay from Marcy and be the good guy Jay-Z on Oprah. You just can’t. They don’t let you in. That’s Mr. Knowles, he just got that pass. There ain’t any tickets to an inauguration ball with niggas. If you’re from the hood, you have that element or that aura around you, there’s no tickets for you. It’s “safe” people there. This is why those things are happening. This is why he has to convince the person that he’s talking to he’s not afraid of anyone.

RELATED: 50 Cent Talks “Power” Cologne And Drake Comparisons (June 2009)

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Since we obviously couldn’t challenge his real-life game, we had to check his gamer credibility. We chatted Derrick up about NBA 2K10, his thoughts on the unlockable player Kanye West, and his team’s plans for next season. If you haven’t already purchased NBA 2K10, peep Derrick’s trailer after the jump. Oh and make sure you’ve got 60 bucks in your wallet, because yeah, it’s that good…

Interview by Andrew Rivera

Complex: Are you a big fan of the NBA 2K series?

Derrick Rose: Yeah, I’ve always been a fan, I’ve been playing it for a long time. That’s probably the only game I really play right now.

Complex: Did you have any particular favorite growing up?

Derrick Rose: No I didn’t really have any growing up. I had a lot of adventure games growing up, but I caught myself up on 2K games.

Complex: Since you’re on the Bulls, we’d guess you probably use them more now, but did you ever have a preferred team?

Derrick Rose: I actually don’t play with the Bulls, I play with the Lakers and I guess my fans play with the Bulls.

Complex: The draft feature is a big deal. Everyone is buzzing about making their own character and in a way raise it through the summer camps and D-Leagues. How close is the game to the real-life experience?

Derrick: Oh it’s real close. Its kind of like personal on the game. You actually do stuff that you really do in the combine. Really I didn’t have to do that much because I think that the top five or six players don’t really have to do that much but on the game you play against each other in scrimmage, work on your skills, and hopefully you’ll get drafted. On the game, if your player’s that good you can transfer him over to the 2K10 game.

Complex: Other than the draft, what would you say is your favorite aspect about 2K10?

Derrick Rose: I played it a little bit and I like my jump shot on there now.

Complex: Was there a problem with it? Did they not make it up to your standards?

Derrick Rose: Nah, it wasn’t great at all last year. [Laughs.] This year it’s following my style a little more so I’m happy about it.

Complex: Does it look better or does it play better?

Derrick Rose: Everything is better. Looks better, the play style is better, and the visual on there you can tell they really put some work on there. Like they made my jumper better but they changed my crossover a little bit more. They put some crossovers there that I did in the game and I like it. I go up in the hole, you can change your lay-ups a little bit more in the game. Pull up below the shoulders, you can do all that stuff in the game.

Complex: That’s cool. You had mentioned before that you don’t play with the Bulls, so what’s it like when you have to play against yourself in the game? Is that a conflict for you?

Derrick: Yeah, it is kind of hard. You want to see yourself be good but I still want to win the game. So if like somebody dunks on with me with myself I’m kind of mad about it, I’ll probably have to stop for a little bit. [Laughs.]

Complex: You use the Lakers, so how about when it’s you playing as Kobe and you have to dunk on yourself?

Derrick Rose: Its funny only because when I’m playing the game it’s amusing. [Laughs.] But you gotta know it’s just a video game. In real life I won’t ever jump early for the block.

Complex: There are some unlockable players in the game, including The Game, Wale, and Kanye West—rappers who all claim they play a fair amount of ball. How do you think a one-on-one game with you and Kanye West would go? In real life, would you just destroy him?

Derrick Rose: Yes! [Laughs.]

Complex: But he’s Kanye. His hometown is Chicago, the same town you play for. Can’t you take it easy on him?

Derrick: [Laughs] Nah, it doesn’t matter, it’s over. That’s not his field. That’s like my going into the booth and trying to write 16 bars to go against his.

Complex: So basically it’s a stay-in-your-lane thing?

Derrick Rose: Yes. Absolutely.

Complex: You were on the cover of Kicks magazine. Do you have any favorite kicks of all time?

Derrick Rose: Of all time? Nah, I don’t have any of all time. Adidas are putting some out right now that I like. I like all shell-toes and they really have some hot ones coming out that everyone is going to really enjoy I think. But other then that I don’t really mess with sneakers.

Complex: Who is the most famous celebrity that you’ve played NBA 2K10 or the previous 2K games against?

Derrick Rose: I’m about to play Kobe later on today actually.

Complex: What are your predictions?

Derrick Rose: I think I’m going to win. You know he has too much stuff going on right now. [Laughs.] Shit, he’s gotta worry about being the best in the NBA and all this other stuff. Me, I’ve only got to worry about the games. I’m only 20—I don’t got no chicks, he’s got a wife and all that stuff. So there’s way more stuff to worry about.

Complex: So isn’t it going to be awkward when you try and play him with the Lakers?

Derrick Rose: No, I’m going to go with the Bulls on this one but if I wasn’t, it would be the Lakers of course. I will dunk on him though, as me in the game.

Complex: [Laughs.] Good to know. So what else have you been doing before the NBA season starts?

Derrick Rose: Right now my biggest thing is to improve my all-around game. Gotta get back as quickly as possible to my team so we can get can start things early so we can try to jell quick. Our biggest thing as an organization right now is winning. If you don’t win, something’s wrong. Winning takes care of everything, so our biggest thing is winning.

VIDEO: NBA 2K10 Game Trailer

The fact that he's stepping into the role of video game character Max Payne in the new film adaptation from 20th Century Fox says a lot about the game's character and story line. Max Payne was released for PC and PlayStation 2 back in 2001, which speaks volumes about how ahead of its time the shooter was. Sure, he may catch feelings about an SNL skit, but his sensitivity doesn’t negate the fact that Wahlberg can step into any role he wants today. The actor took some time to talk to us about his first videogame role, the future of Entourage and Ludacris’ performance in the new movie…

Interview by John Gaudiosi

Complex: What are your thoughts about the wave of video games being adapted for the big screen in Hollywood today?

Mark Wahlberg: My whole thing is there are only so many stories to tell anyway, so I don't care where they come from as long as they're cool and interesting and I get to play a great character like this.

Complex: Video games play a major role in your hit TV series, Entourage, how much of that is from your life?

Mark Wahlberg: The last time me and the real Turtle, Donnie Carroll, and those guys played games was Sega NHL 92 or 93 when you could fight. But I have a very addictive personality. I can't sit around and smoke weed and play video games. As much as I like to reminisce, I'm a 37-year-old father of three.

Complex: Do you keep an eye on how far video games have come since you used to play them?

Mark Wahlberg: Now I realize how important it is to keep up with technology. I didn't even text message until recently. But I know my kids are going to grow up with computers and everything else and I have to pay attention to what's going on with games and technology to be able to monitor what they're doing. The Wii thing for me is most appealing because you still have to be a little physical with the boxing game. I don't want to have to just have my kids sit in front of the television and do nothing.

Complex: Did you go back and play the game as preparation for this role in Max Payne?

Mark Wahlberg: I didn’t want to play it because I have an addictive personality and I have more responsibility now than I’ve ever had. I don’t want to spend 14 hours on a videogame and then eight hours on the set. It wasn’t going to work out.

Complex: How does it feel to be Max Payne?

Mark Wahlberg: With a movie like this, I don’t necessarily feel cocky, but I feel confident. When you have the material and it’s a good movie, it feels good. You don’t have to lie to people and tell them it’s a good movie. If you’re lucky enough to have five good ones every 15 or 20 movies you make, then you have a good body of work there. I think this movie’s going to be amazing. It’s a very emotional movie. I haven’t felt this way about a movie in quite some time.

Complex: What attracted you to this role?

Mark Wahlberg: I'm a father, so this guy lost his wife and child, he has a license to go off and the audience is going to root for him no matter what. This was just exactly what I wanted to do after playing a science teacher in The Happening and an accountant in The Lovely Bones.

Complex: How did you get into this character?

Mark Wahlberg: One of the things I’m fortunate to have is that I’ve gone through so many different things in my life that it’s easy to go to places fairly easy. I like having my life back. I really tried to dive into this guy and stay in his head for the entire shoot. There were quite a few things that I had in my past and things that were going on in the world that I could think about and get right into that space.

Complex: How did the drug-induced aspect of the film impact what you were doing with this character?

Mark Wahlberg: With Max Payne, the demons and all of those things, I didn’t have to focus on those things. If I can’t believe, then how can I convince an audience? I can’t put my best foot forward. So with this, my character, I never buy into the whole demon thing. I just think these people are all whacked out and they’re crazy. And then obviously I have to take the drug to survive and I experience it.

Complex: How did Max Payne, the character, differ from previous tough guy roles you've done?

Mark Wahlberg: We always talked about…I’d done characters that have showed glimpses of what I hope to accomplish in this movie…show fear in The Departed and Four Brothers. But I wanted to take this to a whole new place and thankfully [director] John [Moore] was also in the head space of doing something that was really layered. I’d already done the guy with few words'one note and that’s it. I wanted to go off and push the envelope.

Click “NEXT” to read Mark talk about the stunts in Max Payne and the future of Entourage.

All week long we’ve been releasing exclusive video interviews with each of the artists from “Leaders of the New Cool.” Monday we had The Cool Kids. Yesterday we had B.O.B. And today we have New York’s new hope, Charles Hamilton, talking about the rise of “individuality rap” and the worst hip-hop style trends of all time. Watch it below…

Related: Did Charles Hamilton Fire Shots?

After performing stand up all over the world and even hosting a short-lived show on Oprah’s O Network, Tony is ready to blow up. We caught up with the Pittsburgh Steelers fan and former star of the Will Smith-produced All of Us to chop it up about his past dreams, his most romantic getaway and why he almost had to whoop another comedian’s ass…

Interview By Damien Scott

Complex: What's the scariest nightmare you've ever had?

Tony Rock: Probably drowning. I can't swim in real life, so it can really happen.

Complex: Do you plan on learning to swim?

Tony Rock: I've always wanted to take swimming lessons. When I first started making a little bit of money that was one of the things that was on the top of my list to do.

Complex: What is your favorite body part of the opposite sex?

Tony Rock : The face. Tits are nice, ass is nice, but if you got an ugly face, it doesn't matter.

Complex: What's the worst lie you've ever told?

Tony Rock : Probably something along the lines of… I didn't sleep with your friend.

Complex: How did that go over?

Tony Rock: All the evidence pointed towards the opposite. It was the worst. All signs were saying I was lying. My commitment was admirable.

Complex: What was the one career, besides comedy, you wish you pursued?

Tony Rock: Quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don't even care what position. It started off as quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, now it's just on the team somewhere.

Complex: Did you play football?

Tony Rock: When I was a kid I played quarterback and cornerback. I stopped in high school'we didn't have a football team. I'd love to try out.

Complex: In your opinion, what's the best song to have sex to?

Tony Rock: That's a good one. I'm trying to think of something short, so it seems like you went a long time cause you went for the whole record. [Laughs]. A snippet.

Complex: [Laughs] Like a ringtone?

Tony Rock: Like a Sade snippet so it seems like you went for a long time.

Complex: When you go to the club, would you rather pop bottles or take straight shots?

Tony Rock: I'd say take shots, that's when you're really partying. Poppin' bottles is all image. Taking shots is like you really came to party. Patron chilled is my favorite shot.

Complex: What's the sexiest vacation spot to take a woman?

Tony Rock: Well, I'm a city boy, born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, so I would say…Queens.

Complex: Queens…New York?

Tony Rock: Yeah.

Complex: No exotic islands or anything like that? Just up the Jackie Robinson?

Tony Rock: Man, I'm from the hood.

Complex: When was the last time you had to whoop someone's ass?

Tony Rock: Unfortunately, it was a few weeks ago. I had to beat up another comic.

Complex: Who was the comedian?

Tony Rock: Eh, I don't want to say, it would start it up all over again. He's nobody famous. I'm just very protective of my brothers, as they are of me.

Complex: What'd he say?

Tony Rock: My brother was on stage and he was just going on and on about how he should get off stage because he was trying to go on. And besides from the fact that that's Chris Rock on stage, you should be quiet and let him do what he does. If I'm in the club and Dave Chappelle comes on the stage, I just got to deal with it. He just didn't seem to understand the hierarchy of comedy. So I had to confront him. I was like, you're being disrespectful, besides from the fact that that's my brother, he's Chris Rock. He started arguing, I started arguing. I shut up, but he just kept going, like, Who the fuck you talking to? You gonna get hurt. So after about 15 minutes I was like, Dude you're still talking, I'm done talking. And he was like, So what do you want to do, you want to go outside? I don't think he thought I was really going to go outside, but I just started walking, so when I walked outside, he was like, Oh shit, he really took me up on the offer. And then I whooped his ass. Jack Johnson style. Then he wanted to have the talk.

Complex: Where was this?

Tony Rock: Sunset Blvd.

Complex: Who would you rather be, the President of the United States or the richest man in the world?

Tony Rock: You could do more with the power of the president than the money. I'd say President of the Unite States. Just so I can be in the club and say, Bitch, I'm the President.

Complex : What is your one comfort food?

Tony Rock: Turkey Burgers. My sister makes a mean turkey burger. My favorite spot to get them is in New York on Broadway called Lucky Burger. They're big and delicious. They're neck and neck with my sisters’.

Complex: When you get really sad, is there a special spot you go to cheer yourself up?

Tony Rock: Queens. I go to White Castle on Queens Blvd.

Complex: I was just there the other day.

Tony Rock: Then you know. It cheers me up every time.

Complex: Who do you think hates you the most?

Tony Rock: All other young black comics because they think everything I got is because of my brother.

Related: Getting To Know Flavor Flav (Interview)

Each day this week, we’re releasing a new video interview with one of the artists featured in the article. After kicking things off with The Cool Kids yesterday, we’re turning our attention to the kid they call B.O.B. If you don’t know this offbeat Atlanta native, now is the time to get familiar. Watch the behind the scenes video below to hear him discuss his place in hip-hop’s new class…

Related: 'Leaders Of The New Cool' Week: The Cool Kids